Disgruntled viewers have taken to Facebook and Twitter over the last 48-hours to air their disappointment at the broadcast, with the ABC taking over the duties from Nine this year, and the corporation says it has received 140 complaints about it.

Hosted by comedian Lawrence Mooney and presenter Stephanie Brantz complaints ranged from the “self indulgent” commentary of guests to the camera work and coverage of the fireworks display itself during the four-hour show.

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In a comment piece on the smh.com.au Neil McMahon said: “It was – in case you missed it and have only your own embarrassments to contemplate today – like watching a Quentin Tarantino remake of The Sound of Music.

“In that sense, it had the advantage of keeping viewers screwed to the floor – it was hard to look away. But if you did, it hardly mattered: listening to it from another room was all you needed to know. Not a personality – be they Chaser luminary, newsroom star or musical act of head-scratching provenance – passed across the ABC couch without hollering their contributions with the fervour of harbourside guests who had fallen over the edge to find themselves being mauled by sharks.”

But today Finlayson released a statement defending the coverage which he described as more popular than previous year’s shows and claimed to have gained a greater audience and share overall with 1.27m metro viewers.

Despite criticism from viewers in other cities the broadcaster did not show the displays local to them, Finlayson said the show was intended “to create a national event, using a breadth of ABC talent, over four hours – rather than just cover the firework displays as has been the previous practice”.

He added: “Four hours of live TV is a huge undertaking. While there’s always things to review and improve, we think our team did a terrific job in celebrating an iconic Australian event.

“Social media is full of a range of opinions, positive and negative. All feedback is useful and our ratings numbers are saying that Australians voted with their remotes in favour of the ABC coverage. We are thrilled to have reached a total national audience of 3.8 million with our New Year’s Eve coverage.”

Alex Hayes worked for Mumbrella from 2013 to 2017 in roles including editor and head of Mumbrella Bespoke.
He has been a journalist for more than a decade working on newspapers and websites in the UK and Australia, specialising in the media and marketing sector since 2012.

People want to watch the FIREWORKS!!! They do not want to see self effacing, gratuitous, left wing numbnuts!!!!!! The telecast was memorable for the anti Government rant, the criticism of Abbott, etc. etc. etc.
It was supposed to be a Family Entertainment Programme, showing the World how well we Australians celebrate NYE……..it wasn’t!!! It was a political terrorist attack!!!!

The ratings are irrelevant. Its childish and absurd of the ABC to quote them. They had exclusivity over an already popular public event – a rhesus monkey with a camera could have achieved those numbers.
Here’s the relevant number: $1,250,000,000 of taxpayer’s money – OUR money – and this was the best they could do.

If Mr Finlayson is prepared to defend that broadcast he should be held more accountable than the producers and presenters. It was by far the worst broadcast of an event in Australian television history, all at the expense of the taxpayer.

Listen to all the right wing nutters, looking for any excuse to get rid of the ABC. You guys just hate unbiased facts and can’t bear to watch anything with detailed journalism because of your short attention spans. You hate it because it challenges your views and you fear anything different from you yourself, your values, the social contract. Even if it also regularly challenges the left’s views. Suck it up, that’s called quality journalism! It be a sad day for Australia if all our networks had a corporatist agenda and only showed so called “infotainment”. You guys will say anything to get rid of the ABC.

why we need to know what happened in new york each year about that ball drop? the mainstream media only buys news from bbc, cnn etc, do not even remember where australia is located, and show some local news!

I see the Abbott gang slimers are acting for their puppet master above, in their campaign to dammage anyone who critisizes their hero.The Abbott gang have all the subtle touch of a nazi street gang.Their first priority on gaining power was to silence critics or destroy them.This slimeing has nothing to do with fireworks but a continuation of their campaign to destroy free speech.

Aussie television at its best. You guys suck at producing anything other than cringe worthy variety shows that usually include comedy sketches that are ill conceived and poorly executed. I can’t believe hey hey it’s crap was actually considered a popular show. Shows how isolated you guys really are, even in this age. Between all of your stations it’s a race to the bottom.

Bring back Channel 9 for everyone’s sake and have a real professional broadcast with articulate presenters and commentators and please make it amusing and captivating for all of us who are not able because of circumstance to either watch the fireworks in person or be able to partake in normal New Year functions. A comprehensive look at the year past without a break would have been more entertaining than the buffoons presented to us sitting on a gold couch!

^ What nonsense. It’s still held in esteem – constantly rated the most trustworthy media outlet in Australia BY FAR. This is all just a News Corp Coalition campaign to hurt the ABC for Murdoch’s benefit

The hokey presentation by Australia’s national broadcaster on NYE is the second time an important event has been handled inexpertly by the ABC.
Remember the Australian Navy’s celebration last year? This broadcast was also cringeworthy in content, comment and presentation.
It would be interesting to discover whether the same ABC personnel were involved in the direction and production of both programs.

I watched it from 8:30 to 9pm. It was rubbish. I didn’t realise at the time this this would be seen overseas, or I’d have sent apologies to friends. It sounds like it didn’t get any better. We spend a fortune on the fireworks – the event needs professional coverage if we are to maximise the return by promoting Australia. This broadcast made us look like a nation of morons.

Notice how all of the left wing trendoids instantly start claiming it’s a right-wing plot to get rid of “their” ABC? They’re totally ignoring the fact that the coverage by Aunty has been universally panned (save for those left wing trendoids). Apart from the continually sniping and biting the hand that feeds it, the comments were no more than cringeworthy. As far as the actual fireworks were concerned, the director should resign the day before yesterday. It was diabolically bad – can’t he/she/it follow a running sheet so they know what’s coming up? While I have no cross to bear for channel nahn, they do cover events with a helluva lot more professionalism. ABC was rubbish, nothing more and nothing less. Can I have my money back please?

Defiantly the most boring lead up to the new year I have ever watched on tv in over 50 years. A bunch of nobody’s sitting on a gold couch having a personal chat to each other is about as entertaining as Big Brother couples being intermit in the dark, PLEASE!
Who ever came up with this idea should hold their head in shame and pass on the baton to someone who knows what the hell they are doing before next year comes along.
Live cams around the streets showing people having fun, live bands and flicks of the years past events broadcast of our Aussie lives is what we want. As for those who think people don’t watch fireworks of tv your wrong, some of us are to old or to frail to get out into the mosh pit of the city and love to sit back and watch others having fun at the show.

To Mark, 2/1/14……..did I read “unbiased” in relation to the ABC???????
Where have you been for the past thirty years?????
This NYE broadcast was a disgrace…..to think that it was beamed to a couple of BILLION viewers across the globe, and they were forced to see the inane, puerile efforts of that bunch of couch crushing misfits, I take issue with my taxes being wasted on tripe like that!!

Sitting here in Siem Reap Cambodia, I thought it was amusing banter than typified trendy modern Australia as typified by the ABC, and in many ways it was a promo for the ABC’s forthcoming stuff. Some of it was banal and airheaded, but hey that’s part of the ABC in-team. Love it or leave it.

We watched from 11-12 & it was woeful. The commentators were floundering & clearly desperate for it to be over. Highly politicised “summary”of 2013 -last thing we wanted to see on NYE. Craig R from the Chaser was amusing, kept it light & family friendly. NYE coverage should be about entertainment – a point sorely missed by this lot.

For a truly national event, screen the fireworks for all capital cities in chronological order. That would be “our ABC”. Otherwise, why should only one station televise fireworks, particularly, when you’re not screening my town. (“My ABC” is not Sydney.)

So many opinions. what do they say, opinions are like ****holes; everyone’s got one.

I wonder at the “my money” comments from (presumably) taxpayers. Does nobody realise that it’s “OUR” money paying for commercial networks too? Albeit in the form of a few cents or few dollars on the price of everythiing. I wonder how much they get from those ads showing gravel in the blue frying pan. I know a Jeep’s $40,000 pricetag includes about $6,000 in advertising.

I imagine the outraged taxpayers are not so concerned at the other ways their money is spent. Trips to weddings, politicians’ lunches, politicians’ pensions and many, many dollars to already-rich individuals.

And why, in our democracy, is it OK to fling accusations of bias at the ABC yet not at the Telegraph or Piers-Bloody-Ackerman?

Alan Jones cops about two MILLION from Qantas. Is THAT OK with everyone? Not to mention what he gets from Telstra. It’s YOUR money. Just not accountable, unlike taxes.

Kyle Sandiland is reported to be paid 1.5 to 2 mil. that’s a lot of boxes of Wheeties and bottles of lolly water! ALL OF WHICH is paid by the Consumer, the Customer, a.k.a. the PUNTER. (that’s you).

and where, in the past, shal we return to? 1999 when Ch 9 took ABC to court because ABC dared to allow footage to the BBC? (Since then, ANY broadcaster can run the fireworks, BTW).

Or 2006 when – on TEN – Matthew Newton pretended to give oral sex to John Foreman? Family moment! The language was salty too. Aah, the elusive youth demographic.

Maybe 2004 when PM John Howard kicked up a fuss over the choice of music (John Brogdon was also unhappy) because it was planned to use the National Anthem at the finale. Johnny wanted a piece people could sing along to. (Cum-by-yah?)

John Hollands – despite all you said, it doesn’t change the fact that the ABC coverage of new years eve was terrible, and certainly the worst we’ve ever had. If other channels have done better in the past, that’s who should do it in future. It was poorly planned, very poorly presented, and a national disgrace.

I’m interested to see you substantiate your claim that Alan Jones gets $2 million from Qantas – I’d just like proof so I can quote it.

To follow the logical extension of your ‘argument’ (ideology), defence, police, the majority of the health system, majority of the education system, majority of the road and rail system, national highways, Federal banking are all taxpayer funded, so let’s get rid of them as well.

Should such anti-government, pro-capitalist Tea Party style blind ideology ever be implemented to its logical (illogical!) extension then it would be anarchy. Which may be a good outcome for the increasingly dominant mega-billionaires that increasingly privately control our daily life, hence their rabid support for it.

JohnG. Yes, I do know the difference between the Public Sector and Priivate Enterprise.

However, I also see similarities, especially in comparing the taxpayer-funded component with the “magically free” commercial sector. It ain’t free.

See, Most businesses can only earn money from their direct customers. those who buy the product directly and pay for it directly.

Whereas Commercial Media gives away its product to consumers but is paid indirectly by those consumers through Agencies who, in turn, are paid by Advertisers and THEY get their funds from the public. That very same public who pay taxes.

People make a big deal of “paying” for the ABC (and Policemen and Customs Officials and Bus Drivers; all of whom get yelled at “I pay your wages, mate!” at some point.) but just as certainly they pay for Bosses and Workers everywhere else including banks and Hospitals. That’s how an economy works.

To imagine one is not paying for commercial media is just dumb.

Yes, you have a choice; but which brand of petrol do I buy to not fund Jones or Sandilands? Which Wheeties, which beer, car, detergent…

And yet. Do we hear those people who whine “I pay your wages” saying the same about Kochies’ reputed 1 mil a year? Or the Big Fat bankers on their 3 mil plus packages? Hmmm.

Ironic that when Laws and Jones were taking secret payments in exchange for pretending to have honest views about things like Telstra and the Comm Bank, they were “outed” by Media Watch. On the ABC. Which also blew Prof David Flint’s frilly veil of independance. Did I spell “Prof” right?